ACF

Thank you. Do you mind me asking what you built, did they agree to something modern or was it a style that would fit with the local chocolate box vernacular? This is another query in my mind, is it better to propose a design that looks like it's always been there or something 'of our time' to illustrate a difference of era?

Thank you very much, I will call and see if she can advise or recommend someone local to me.

Thank you, I'll look into that.

Yes, I think that sounds like a very good idea, and fortunately we get on well with everyone around here - at least we do now!

That was a 'natural pool' that our predecessors had installed but it was such poor workmanship it was a liability so we filled it back in. Not a building, I'm afraid.

Thank you so much, a very valuable and valid insight. I think you're so right about the neighbours too, it's a very co-operative community and the environment means a lot to those who live here so I'd very much want to present it as enhancing the landscape and our ability to manage the land better, which is heartfelt. We're not just being opportunist, we really want to live here. Thanks for the advice and your experience.

I'd really appreciate that, thank you very much

Thanks for the recommendations, I will take a look at that. Yes, pre-app would be an option, though we had a bad experience with this previously, not on a residential project but on a business application. Like most planning teams it seems, ours has a crazy turnover of personnel and the process has been arduous to say the least. The pre-app was very encouraging but it passed through so many pairs of hands that the momentum just waned. I suspect if we just ask the question with a pre-app the answer will be no but if we're able to build an argument it might just be a maybe... (and probably a no later down the line!).

Thanks, it's perfect in my imagination 😁

Yes - wouldn't it be nice if it was so easily designated! I think you're right, it needs someone with vision and local experience so I'm sifting through lots of other applications to see which consultants seem to have been most successful. Thanks for your reply.

Thanks for your reply, I haven't seen anything in the local plan that mentions a cluster policy but it might be worth me asking the question. I suspect any avenue in would still be a long shot and a long haul but I'm not giving up just yet!

I've posted the above image showing the layout of our part of the village - it's very spread out. Might be of use for comments. Thanks.

Map 4 pdf.pdf

Hi, I've just joined and have been reading lots of posts on here with increasing despondency. If anyone is interested in commenting on our situation, please feel free and thank you, even if it's relentlessly negative. We may as well be realistic. We live in an AONB on an old fruit farm with almost 3 acres. The old orchard is virtually non-existent now (not our neglect, it was last in full swing in the 1960s and had only a handful of gnarled old cherry trees left when we arrived 4 years ago) so it's effectively just a large garden with an area of scrubland backing onto farmland in a linear style village. We'd love to divide it into two and build a low key, probably barn style or timber framed eco home on the old orchard site, replanting a large number of the fruit trees and putting in appropriate plantings for biodiversity, selling the main house with an acre or so to fund it. Unfortunately, because there is no evidence of so much as a shed ever having been on the actual orchard site, I'm struggling to tick any of the boxes the planners would likely demand. I've done a lot of reading online but haven't yet approached a planning consultant as I don't want to waste time and money if it's a complete no-go. There would be no impact whatsoever on any neighbours as the site is very well shielded by mature hedgerows and it wouldn't detract from the beauty of the landscape either. A couple of properties in the same AONB have been granted permission in recent years for large, impressive new builds to replace tiny, ugly structures, not even a dwelling in one case, on the basis of replacement - pretty tenuous in view of the scale but still to be welcomed in my view. I just find it infuriating that a sensitive, potentially enhancing project like ours would likely be blocked as overdevelopment when it would be comparatively smaller in scale and of no consequence to anyone else. Reinstating the orchard would be a plus, however I guess the argument would be, why can't you do that anyway? Any thoughts from those who've experienced similar would be very welcome, thanks

Got it, thanks, just finding my way around the site! Appreciate you responding, thanks

Thank you for the welcome. I will study the planning sub-forum and if anyone is interested in commenting on our situation, please feel free and thank you, even if it's relentlessly negative! We live in an AONB on an old fruit farm with almost 3 acres. The orchard is virtually non-existent now (not our neglect, it was last in full swing in the 1960s and had only a handful of gnarled old cherry trees left when we arrived 4 years ago) so it's effectively just a large garden with an area of scrubland backing onto farmland in a linear style village. We'd love to divide it into two and build a low key, probably barn style or timber framed eco home on the old orchard site, replanting a large number of the fruit trees and putting in appropriate plantings for biodiversity, selling the main house with an acre or so to fund it. Unfortunately, because there is no evidence of so much as a shed ever having been on the actual orchard site, I'm struggling to tick any of the boxes the planners would likely demand. I've done a lot of reading online but haven't yet approached a planning consultant as I don't want to waste time and money if it's a complete no-go. There would be no impact whatsoever on any neighbours as the site is very well shielded by mature hedgerows and it wouldn't detract from the beauty of the landscape either. A couple of properties in the same AONB have been granted permission in recent years for large, impressive new builds to replace tiny, ugly structures, not even a dwelling in one case, on the basis of replacement - pretty tenuous in view of the scale but still to be welcomed in my view. I just find it infuriating that a sensitive, enhancing project like ours would likely be blocked as overdevelopment when it would be comparatively smaller in scale and of no consequence to anyone else. Any thoughts from those who've experienced similar would be very welcome, thanks

New to the forum, looking to glean useful pointers for a possible, though highly improbable, new build on our own land for our future retirement. Planning will be a major obstacle, unfortunately.